Original articleOutcomes of a Weight-Bearing Rehabilitation Program for Patients Diagnosed With Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome
Section snippets
Participants
Twenty-eight subjects (14 controls, 14 experimental) between the ages of 18 and 42 years were recruited. For the experimental group, we recruited 5 men and 9 women (age, 24±6y; height, 167.5±10.1cm; weight, 71.6±12.2kg; duration of symptoms, 22±25mo) from the University of Kentucky Clinic and general campus population. Inclusion criteria were (1) anterior or retropatellar knee pain reported during at least 2 of the following activities: ascending and descending stairs, hopping and running,
Results
Means and SDs for each electromyographic variable are presented in table 1.
Discussion
The results of this study indicate that subjects with PFPS had decreased pain, increased function, and altered vastus lateralis and VMO onset timing differences after the weight-bearing rehabilitation program. These results are similar to those reported by Cowan et al9 after a McConnell-based rehabilitation program.
This investigation differed from a few of the previous investigations because there was no focus on specific VMO activation.9, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 This program integrated balance,
Conclusions
Our investigation has provided evidence that the vastus lateralis and VMO onset timing difference may change after a weight-bearing rehabilitation program. This investigation also showed the effectiveness of a supervised home rehabilitation program to decrease pain and increase function in subjects diagnosed with PFPS. Future research should investigate the different components of a rehabilitation program (quadriceps strengthening, gluteus medius strengthening, lower-extremity neuromuscular
Acknowledgments
We thank the National Athletic Trainers’ Association for funding this investigation. We also thank Alcan Airex for the donation of Airex balance pads used by subjects with PFPS for the rehabilitation program.
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Funded by National Athletic Trainers’ Association (Osternig Masters grant).
No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit upon the author(s) or upon any organization with which the author(s) is/are associated.